OUR RAREST COFFEES, SMALL-BATCH ROASTED IN SEATTLE

Our constant travels take us around the world in search of rare and distinctive coffees. We love sharing these discoveries with you. Each of our Starbucks Reserve® coffees was brought to life at our Starbucks Reserve® Roastery and Tasting Room in Seattle.

They serve some single origin coffee bean as long as the usual offering of house blends, some of them aren't easily found in Surabaya. The usual offering such as verona, espresso etc are also available here.

The place isn't that much different from other Starbuck shops, though each starbuck seems to have a distinct flair to it. My favorite Starbuck is actually located in Solo Paragon Mall.

The only distinct feature that I notice is the bar stool, next to the Pour Over station. Probably to accommodate the instagramers, so they can get the best shot of the barista in action, in addition to educating the clientele on how to brew a great cup of joe.

We came here a bit late at 20.00, so it supposedly not the peak crowd. My fellow blogger friends had come earlier at 18.00, and already left by the time I arrive. Luckily the friendly staff in Stabruck are always ready by our side and offering everything from snack to interesting beverages.

If it's still this crowded by 20.000 I cna;t imagine how it was in the first hours of opening.

When waiting for my order to arrive I notice their milk carton was a bit peculiar, turns out it has a Chinese characters on them. Which makes me wonder what's the point, China have been on the media spotlight this past few years, from the milk powder tainted with melanin to the latest fiasco of recycled chicken meat. I'd be more than happy with the local milk in Surabaya's vicinity.

They still uses this kind of milk as of yesterday, when I visited them last time for tumbler day (every month on 22'nd)

Starbuck Reserve - Surabaya Conga Bean

Starbuck Reserve - Pour Over

One of the signature of Starbuck Reserve that I notice is the use of pour over coffee,

Pourover coffee starts with (freshly) ground coffee, a filter, and a filter holder, often called a 'pourover dripper.' At the most basic level,pourover brewing involves pouring water over and through the grounds to extract the coffee flavors into your cup or serving vesse (www.seriouseats.com)So what's so great about it?

Pourover coffee (unlike some other methods) continuously replenishes the liquid surrounding the coffee grounds with new, fresher water. This promotes a faster, more efficient brew. On the other hand, that fresh water also has a tendency to extract more from the surface layers of the grounds. It's sort of like frying cubed potatoes in a seriously hot pan. Compared to a cooler pan, your potatoes will cook faster, but there's also the risk that you'll overdo it, especially on the outsides.

Pouring one stream of water, rather than a dozen or more little streams from a coffee-maker's shower head, results in a brewing environment that's a few degrees higher, just from reducing the surface temperature loss from those narrow water streams. Temperature and water quality affect the overall reaction rate of our little coffee chemistry set (hotter, cleaner water generally means faster).

The Pour Over coffee I tasted have the combination of body from Vietnam Drip and the lightness of coffee made with syphon. Which is very nice for a coffee aficionado. My partner who's just an occasional coffee drinker likes the cappuccino better.